Acoustics

NPR's Joe Palca reports on the renovations to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall in Washington, D.C. Most of the renovations were to bring the building up to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but some of the changes were made to improve the acoustics of the concert hall. There are new resonant chambers along the back walls of the stage to project more of the sound into the hall, and the upper balcony has been cut back to allow more space for sound to reverberate. (5:30) 9